The present invention relates to ammunition articles and a method and apparatus for manufacturing ammunition articles.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/265,946, entitled “AMMUNITION ARTICLES WITH PLASTIC COMPONENTS AND METHOD OF MAKING AMMUNITION ARTICLES WITH PLASTIC COMPONENTS”, filed Mar. 11, 1999, naming inventors Nabil Husseini and David Byron, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/832,020, entitled “AMMUNITION ARTICLES WITH PLASTIC COMPONENTS AND METHOD OF MAKING AMMUNITION ARTICLES WITH PLASTIC COMPONENTS”, filed Apr. 11, 2001, naming inventors Nabil Husseini and David Byron, and published as US 2001/00113299 A1 on Aug. 16, 2001, both of which are incorporated by reference, disclose ammunition articles and a method of and equipment for making ammunition articles with plastic components wherein plastic is injection molded around a projectile or other portion of the ammunition article, such as to form a cartridge casing for the ammunition article. Though this type of ammunition article, method, and equipment can result in substantial savings relative to conventional ammunition articles, manufacturing methods, and manufacturing equipment, it is desirable to further speed the manufacture and reduce manufacturing costs.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing an ammunition article includes forming a projectile of an ammunition article at a first station of an apparatus, transporting the projectile within the apparatus to a second station of the apparatus, and injection molding at the second station a cartridge casing body of the ammunition article around at least a portion of the projectile
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for making an ammunition article includes a first station for forming a projectile, a second station for injection molding a cartridge casing body around at least a portion of the projectile, and a conveyor for transporting the projectile from the first station to the second station.